


Carlton Lassiter is a Soft Dad

by The_law_scholar



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Carlton Lassiter, Protective Marlowe, Soft Lassie, good parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_law_scholar/pseuds/The_law_scholar
Summary: A series of unconnected one-shots that take place in various stages of Lily Lassiter's life and Carlton experiencing fatherhood, as well as realizing that it truly does take a village to raise a child.I would love to answer prompts any of you guys might have, that way I can keep this going for a long time. If any of you have ideas, please send them my way via comment.
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter/Marlowe Viccellio, Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	Carlton Lassiter is a Soft Dad

  
  
  


Usually, when Head Detective Carlton Lassiter was in one of his moods, the best plan of action would be to avoid him at all costs and keep any conversation limited to work-related topics only. However, Juliet couldn’t deny that her curiosity was starting to get the best of her as she watched Lassiter yell at a befuddled McNab for the third time that morning. It wasn’t  _ that  _ unusual per se, but ever since Lily’s birth two months ago, her partner had a bounce in his step that she wasn’t quite used to. When he wasn’t showing off photos on his phone of his newborn daughter, he was on the phone with Marlowe, cooing into the speaker at his daughter who Juliet could only imagine was being held up to the other end by her mother. Quite frankly, it was adorable, regardless of the fact that other employees around the station seemed to be getting fed up with it. Juliet had worked with Carlton for years, and she never imagined she’d see him so excited and content with his life. It was refreshing, and she wouldn’t trade the constant beaming for anything. This is why she kept a close eye on the senior detective subtly, trying to use her perceptiveness to draw a conclusion as to why his mood suddenly became sour after two months of pure joy. She wasn’t able to detect anything out of the ordinary; Lassiter was sitting at his desk, pouring over a file as he did every day, so she could only figure that there was trouble in paradise. It could be a number of things: fighting with Marlowe, lack of sleep due to Lily keeping them both up through the night… the possibilities were endless when it came to parenthood. 

Finally, Juliet’s curiosity got the best of her, and she found herself strolling up to her partner’s desk, giving him the most pointed look she could muster on her face. “What’s up with you today?” she asked in a no-nonsense tone. Carlton had a habit of avoiding talking about his personal life and Juliet wanted to make it clear that this conversation was not negotiable. 

He didn’t look up at her when he gave her his short answer. “Nothing. Why?” 

_ Of course,  _ she thought exasperatedly. “Well, for starters, I don’t think I’ve seen McNab look this flustered. The poor guy’s just doing his job, Carlton, and you’re berating him like he’s incompetent which we both know he’s not. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but maybe ease up on the poor guy, yeah?” 

Much to her surprise, Cartlon relented. Although, she had noticed that fatherhood has led to him admitting his wrongs much easier than he had in the past. She supposed that having a daughter made him realize that mistakes could be detrimental, and learning from them was essential in a child’s development. “You’re right, O’Hara,” he said with a sigh, running a hand down his face. “I’ll talk to McNab. I guess it’s just a lack of sleep mixed with the fact that I’ve been feeling kind of trapped lately.” 

“Trapped?” Juliet asked, hoping for elaboration. 

Carlton shrugged. “Maybe that’s not the right word. I don’t know, I haven’t slept a full night in two months. I guess I just mean that with an infant to take care of, Marlowe and I haven’t been able to get out much. Or, at all, for that matter. Marlowe takes care of her all day, and so when I get home, I try to be there as much as possible. The last thing I want is for Lily to feel the way I felt about my dad growing up. I’m trying to stay involved as much as possible, but it’s hard after working full-time and then some here. It’d be nice to be able to get out with my wife once in a while, but she and I are pretty reluctant with hiring some stranger to watch her. I don’t like people in my house, O’Hara.” 

Juliet had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at the last comment but instead chose to take a good, long look at her partner. Sure enough, the bags under his bloodshot eyes were apparent, as well as the light layer of scruff along his jaw, and his abnormally tousled hair that was undoubtedly caused by him running his hands through it more than usual. Being a parent was no doubt the hardest job in the world, and Juliet could only imagine how much stress Carlton must be under trying to balance his home and work life all at once. “There are options, Carlton,” she said gently, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. “First of all, you know Chief Vick would give you the time off if-”

“I can’t,” he interrupted, holding his hand up. “With Lily around now, I need to be working more than ever. We’re not struggling by any means, but we have Marlowe’s hospital bills to pay off, and I’m already opening up a savings account for Lily when she goes to college.” 

Juliet smiled at that. Of course, Carlton would have a college fund for his two-month-year-old. “Well, you don’t need to hire a complete stranger to watch her either.” 

“I’d rather die than have my mother watch her. She and Althea would be passed out from drinking wine by eight or nine.” 

This time, Juliet did roll her eyes, albeit affectionately. “You’re saying your mother is the only person you know in the whole world? What about Henry? He’s obviously taken care of babies before, and you saw him the first time he laid eyes on Lily. He was smitten.” 

Carlton smiled, despite himself. “And have you met  _ his  _ offspring? Fat chance, O’Hara, I don’t need my baby girl turning out like a Spencer. “

Juliet kept probing. “Well, you also have a partner who absolutely adores her.” 

At that, Carlton’s eyes widened a little, and he straightened up in his chair. “Are you saying you’d babysit? You’d be willing to do that?” 

Juliet waved her hand casually. “Carlton, she’s  _ your  _ daughter. Of course, I would love to watch her every now and then. You know, if you ever need help, all you need to do is ask. Not only am I more than willing to help, but the Chief’s a mom too, and I’ve  _ heard  _ her say that she adores Lily. You have friends, partner, and we’re here to stay, which means that your family is part of ours too.” 

“O’Hara, I could kiss you.” 

Juliet made a face. “Thank me some other way. How about you and Marlowe have a nice, relaxing evening tonight between the two of you, and I can come over after work to watch Lily?” 

Carlton suddenly looked skeptical. “You’re not bringing Spencer, are you?” 

Juliet raised an eyebrow. “He  _ is  _ my husband, Carlton. But don’t worry, I will handle the babysitting.” 

Carlton was already pulling out his cellphone, looking more at ease than Juliet had seen him all day. “Marlowe will be thrilled. Thank you so much, partner.” 

Juliet watched Lassiter text his wife, a smile settling on her face. She found herself actually excited to babysit Lily as she couldn’t deny that when she was born, she found herself getting a slight twinge of baby fever. She and Shawn weren’t ready yet, but this would be a good way to find out whether or not parenting was in the cards for them. 

Plus, Lily was  _ really  _ cute. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Juliet smirked when Shawn all put propelled himself out of the car when they arrived at the Lassiter residence. She was worried that he’d be reluctant with the idea of dealing with ‘little Lassie’ as he called the infant, but he seemed more excited than her. If anything, he was excited about the fact that Lassiter seemed trusting enough to let him tag along, repeating multiple times to Juliet, “ _ I’ve always known Lassie loves me.”  _ Juliet had only rolled her eyes, but she knew better than anyone that Lassiter’s disdain for the pseudo-psychic was played up most of the time. 

She knocked on the door softly, having learned that it was more polite to do so when at the residence that contained a newborn, in case said baby was asleep. Marlowe opened the door quickly and immediately wrapped her arms around the two of them, pulling them into a tight squeeze. She was apparently as desperate for a night off as Carlton. “Hey, thank you so much for agreeing to do this, guys! Carlton and I really,  _ really  _ needed a date night.” 

When the hug was broken, Juliet looked Marlowe up and down. She was wearing a form-fitted teal dress with gold heels and matching earrings. She recognized the locket around her neck as one Carlton had gifted her for their anniversary which contained a picture of a newborn Lily inside. “You look great, Marlowe. Shawn and I are actually really excited to spend time with Lily. She is an absolute sweetheart.” 

Marlowe beamed. “Our daughter is perfect but don’t let her cuteness fool you. She can be a complete hellspawn when she wants to be.” Marlowe stepped aside to let the two of them in. She looked over her shoulder and called out, “Isn’t that right, honey?” 

Carlton, who was standing in the kitchen came into view. He was holding Lily in his arms, bottle feeding her, and smiling. “Absolutely,” he agreed, although the look in his eyes as he stared down at his daughter could only be described as pure love. 

“Well, what can you expect from Little Lassie?” Shawn pointed out. “Innocence and purity? I don’t think so. That little one is going to be shooting things by the time she can walk.” 

Lassiter didn’t take his eyes off his daughter. “I sure hope so,” he muttered. 

Juliet hurried over to her partner’s side and peered over his shoulder, her eyes softening as she looked at the little bundle. “She’s the cutest baby in the world,” she cooed, putting a hand to her chest. “Look at those big, blue eyes. She looks like you, Carlton.” 

“Well, to be fair,” Shawn began, stepping next to his wife, also peering down at the baby. “Firstborns are biologically  _ supposed  _ to look like the father so the father is less inclined to abandon it. I read it in a psychology journal.” 

Juliet gave him a look. “You did not.” 

Shawn raised his hands in defense. “Fine,  _ Gus  _ read it in a psychology journal and told me about it, but it’s completely true. Lily’s beady eyes are designed to make Lassie love her so he’ll stay. It’s all trickery, Jules.” 

Carlton glared at Shawn. “I am not staying with my daughter because she  _ looks  _ like me, Spencer.” 

Shawn shrugged. “The world will never know.” 

Lassiter ignored him and set the now-empty bottle of formula on the counter and hoisted Lily in his arms so her head was resting against his shoulder and she was upright. He threw a cloth over the shoulder of his suit jacket and began to pat her back lightly, cooing the whole time. It was so uncharacteristic and so  _ soft  _ that Juliet had to bite her lip to prevent herself from squealing with joy. “That’s my good girl,” he cooed, swaying softly. He looked up at the two of them, eyes turning serious. “Okay, so there’s a list of everything you’ll need to know taped to the fridge. I just fed her two and a half ounces of formula, so in about three hours, she’ll need more. In the meantime, she’ll probably be asleep soon. If necessary, you’ll need to wake her to feed.” 

“Which she’s usually pretty good at doing herself,” Marlowe added, standing beside her husband and kissing Lily’s temple. 

Carlton gave Lily one last kiss before holding her out to Juliet's eager, open arms. She took the infant and held her up to her chest, feeling her heart swoon. "She's in good hands," she promised her partner. 

Carlton nodded and pat Juliet on the shoulder. "As long as she stays in  _ your  _ hands, O'Hara." 

"You know she changed her last name," Shawn pointed out. 

"I'm still in denial," Lassiter retorted. He turned to Marlowe and kissed her cheek. "You look absolutely stunning tonight, my darling." 

Marlowe blushed and giggled. "As do you, my handsome pooh bear." 

"Remind me where your bathroom is," Shawn began, putting on a face of disgust. "Because I am going to vomit this instant." 

Juliet bat her husband's arm with a free hand. "Shawn, this is  _ their  _ house." She turned to Carlton and Marlowe, smiling widely. "You two have a good date night. You both deserve this. Take your time and don't worry about us, okay?" 

Carlton thanked her once again and gave Lily a last loving glance before heading to the door, arm-in-arm with Marlowe. As he opened the door, he turned around and gave both of them an icy look that was enough to make Juliet's eyes widen slightly. "Anything happens to my daughter, and I swear  _ both  _ of you are going to be spitting up bullets. Am I clear?" 

Shawn made a face. "I'm not really sure how that would work…"

"Do you want to find out, Spencer?" 

Marlowe gently tugged on Carlton's jacket sleeve, looking up at him with her eyebrows raised. "Carlton, be nice. I think Juliet can handle this." Carlton didn't respond, but he gave both of them one last look before heading out the door with his wife. 

The moment they were gone, Juliet released a breath. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Carlton turned out to be such a papa bear." She lightly bounced a sleepy Lily in her arms, giggling softly. "This shouldn't be so hard. She's already sleepy. She'll probably sleep until they get back. Carlton said it'd probably be around midnight or so." 

Shawn shrugged, already opening the fridge and rifling through it. "That is unless Lassie trained her to make our lives miserable. I wouldn't be surprised." 

"She's two months old," Juliet reminded him. "She isn't 'trained' to do anything yet. She's also not a dog, Shawn." 

Shawn pulled out a large jar of pickles and began snacking. "Tomato, toh-mah-to." He looked over Juliet's shoulder at Lily, giving a friendly wave to her. "She is kinda cute, which feels unnerving to say about something that was blossomed from Lassie's loins." 

Juliet made a face. "Can you never say that again, please." She held Lily out to her husband with an encouraging smile. "Do you want the honor of putting her to bed?" 

Shawn looked reluctant. "I don't know, Jules. She's just so…  _ tiny _ ." 

Juliet laughed a little. "Come on, Shawn. She weighs like 12 pounds. She's almost asleep, come on." 

Slowly Shawn held out his arms and Juliet gently eased Lily into his hold. She adjusted him so he was holding her correctly, and made her words soft and encouraging as she spoke. "Just support her head like that and hold her against your chest." 

Shawn complied, and once Lily was settled he gently swayed and took a seat in the living room, his gaze never leaving the little bundle. "Who's gonna grow up to be tough and terrifying?" he cooed softly. "Yes, you are. I bet you'll be beating up boys the moment you start preschool." 

Juliet watched the interaction from a distance, leaning against the dining room table and smiling softly. She couldn't help but picture a little bundle of their own in those arms, Shawn saying words of encouragement like he was now except it would probably be more like, " _ who's gonna grow up and make Grandpa's life miserable?"  _ or " _ who's gonna get sent to the principal the moment they start preschool."  _ It was easy to imagine now, and even though Juliet knew it was a way down the road for them, it could happen. 

"Jules!" Shawn's excited whisper startled her out of her daydreaming. "She's asleep. What now?" 

"The nursery is upstairs, the last door on the right. Lay her down in her crib. I'm going to look over the instructions Carlton left to make sure we don't miss anything." 

Shawn headed upstairs, being more careful than she had ever seen him before, and she knew it wasn't just because of Lassiter's threats. She looked over the list, deciding that everything seemed straightforward enough. Diapers were in the nursery, the formula was in the pantry, her favorite toy and blanket were in her crib. Every other sentence on the list was the words ' _ be careful'  _ which made Juliet grin. Carlton may be a hardass, but Lily was in excellent hands. 

Shawn returned from downstairs and plopped down on the couch beside Juliet who in return laid her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what Lassie’s complaining about,” he said with an arrogant scoff. “This baby thing is easy. You just feed them, change them, and let them sleep.” 

Juliet shook her head with a fond smile. “It’s a lot more complicated than that, Shawn. Besides, after a while, I can only imagine how exhausting it gets. Carlton said Lily hasn’t slept through the entire night yet, so he and Marlowe are woken up all the time.” 

Shawn shrugged. “It’s no different than when I’d watch late-night cartoons on Disney XD until 4 am and then get a call from Chief Vick at 11 am.” 

“It’s completely different. That’s a choice. You  _ choose  _ to stay up late.” 

“It’s not my fault that everything good airs during the night,” Shawn protested, although Juliet noticed that he was actually managing to keep his volume down--something she never thought possible. She kissed his cheek and closed her eyes, feeling more at peace than she had in a long time. 

They could do this. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Two hours ago, Lily had started crying, and despite all her best efforts, had yet to stop. Juliet, with her hair falling out of her bun, began to feel more frazzled than she had even working the toughest cases. It was the mystery she had no idea how to crack. How the hell do you get a baby to stop crying? Her diaper was changed, she was given a little more formula, Juliet had even remembered to burp her--although she  _ hadn’t  _ remembered to put a cloth over her shoulder and now was covered in spit-up--and Shawn had wrapped her in her favorite blanket and had tried rocking her for the past half-hour, using one hand to dance her favorite toy around to try and distract her. When that hadn’t worked, Juliet opted to put on some of the baby music that was supposed to relax her which Carlton mentioned in his list, but it was to no avail. 

“Jules,” Shawn said in a hushed whisper, although this time his tone was full of agitation rather than serenity has it had been before. “Nothing’s working!” 

Juliet ran a hand through her messy hair. “I know, I know. Don’t you think I can see that, Shawn? I don’t know what to do either, okay?” 

“Call Lassie?” Shawn suggested desperately. 

“No,” she argued immediately. “No, he and Marlowe really,  _ really  _ need this, and I need my partner to not bite my head off at work every time I so much as talk to him, okay? We can handle this. They’ll be home in a couple of hours. I’m sure she’ll fall asleep before that.” 

Shawn looked down at her, looking more unsure than Juliet had seen him in a long time. “I don’t know, I’ve tried every soothing thing I can think of. She just won’t stop!” 

Juliet had been using her phone to Google various ways to stop a baby from crying, but she was only getting answers she already knew. She wondered if Lily was teething, but she discovered that typically occurred around four months, and Lassiter hadn’t said anything about it anyway. Suddenly, an idea struck her. “Call your dad.” 

Shawn looked at her like she just told him to jump off the roof. “What? Are you crazy?”

“I don’t know, Shawn. He’s raised babies before, obviously.” 

“No, Jules, he raised  _ me.  _ Look at me, Jules! Besides, my mom was still around when I was a baby. My dad would just say something like ‘ _ gotta let a kid cry sometimes’  _ or some other insensitive, brutish comment.” 

“Well, he’d still be up, right? My parents go to bed at like seven! We’re running out of options!” 

Sighing heavily, Shawn relented. “Fine. Take Lily, I’ll call my dad.” 

Juliet obliged and scooped the wailing baby in her arms, gently bouncing her up and down and shushing her. “It’s okay, Lily. Go to sleep. Go to sleep.” Of course, it didn’t work, and Lily continued to scream loudly enough that she was worried the neighbors would get involved. She couldn’t deny that she was starting to debate calling Carlton too, but she wanted to make sure that they tried absolutely everything first. 

And that was why there was a knock at the door a half-hour later, revealing a smug-looking Henry Spencer. “Not so easy, is it, son?” Juliet heard him say before Shawn rolled his eyes and let him in. 

“Just whatever you do, don’t tell the Lassiters that we called you,” Shawn said. 

Henry brushed past his son and sat next to Juliet who was holding a still-crying Lily. “Did you change her and feed her?” 

Juliet nodded, gently rocking the infant. “Yes and then some. We played music, we tried her toys… we can’t figure this out.” 

Henry smiled. “I remember Shawn was hard to shut up sometimes as a baby--well, actually that never changed. Here.” He held out his arms and Juliet graciously handed over. Henry tried using the pacifier--which Juliet had tried a million times--and just like she had been doing the past two and a half hours, Lily turned her head and spit it out, crying harder. “Alright,” Henry said slowly before easing her down onto the blanket that was spread across the living room floor. “Sometimes acid reflux causes pain, and so you lay them on their stomachs for something called ‘tummy time’. All babies need to do it. It’s how they learn to crawl too.” Henry stepped back but Lily didn’t seem to like being on the floor either. Her wailing continued, and Juliet could tell that the older man was getting stumped too. He picked her back up and laid his hand across her forehead, sighing softly. “No fever.” He bounced her gently up and down in his arms, humming softly, but it worked as well as it had for Shawn and Juliet. 

“Nothing will work,” Juliet said. “Maybe we should call Carlton.” 

“Now, now, Juliet, I am a father myself. I think I can figure this out,” Henry argued. “Sometimes babies just cry when they’re really tired, but they refuse to go to sleep. A lot of times that’s because there’s so much going on around them, so what I suggest is we lay her back down, and eventually she’ll fall asleep.” 

Juliet was willing to try anything, so she gently took Lily back into her arms and went upstairs, laying her down in her crib. It pained her to leave a baby crying as much as she did, but she was desperate. She turned off the light and headed back downstairs where the three of them waited for silence to finally come. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

An hour later, there was a small pile of spilled formula on the floor courtesy of Shawn, Henry was pacing around the room looking as wound up as the two of them now, and Juliet’s hair was completely unsalvagable. Baby music had been playing softly in the background for the past hour, and Juliet wanted to break all of the CDs in half but refrained from doing so. 

“Well, she’s never sleeping again,” Shawn said, looking as disheveled as Juliet felt. “Let’s start the funeral planning for Lassie and Marlowe now.” 

Juliet already had her phone out. “I can’t. I’m tapping out. I can’t do this any longer. Marlowe was right, she birthed a hellspawn. Lily isn’t even human. I can’t believe I was fooled by how cute she is. Was. She’s not cute anymore. I am never looking at her again.” 

“Will you two pull yourselves together? Just call Lassiter, Juliet.” 

Juliet was already on it. However, as soon as she pulled up Lassiter’s contact, a car in the driveway had her dropping her phone onto the couch. “They’re here! Oh my god, they’re here. Finally. We’re saved, guys. It’s over. We can go home.” 

The sound of footsteps approaching was music to Juliet’s ears--and far better than the horrendous noise that had been playing from the CD player. The door opened, and her partner stepped through, the horrified look on his face not even a concern of hers at that moment. “Juliet, what the hell?” Carlton surveyed the room, his eyes scanning to the three of them who were now all sitting on the couch, disheveled and wide-eyed. He saw the spilled formula, the stack of CDs scattered around as all of them had tried to find  _ one  _ that Lily liked, the array of various toys, and of course, Juliet who managed to get spit-up on  _ twice.  _ “O’Hara, Spencer,  _ Spencer,  _ what the hell happened here?” 

Marlowe appeared at her husband’s side, looking just as shocked. “Oh, my…” 

Then, all three of them began to speak at once. 

“Carlton, we had no idea-”

“-Jules and I were going crazy.” 

“-We tried everything!  _ Everything”  _

-”The whole damn list.” 

-”She wouldn’t  _ stop.”  _

“-Tired” 

-”Very cranky” 

-”I don’t even know why I’m here.” 

Carlton held up a hand, and all of them stopped talking. He approached Juliet who was cradling a wailing Lily and held out his arms. Slowly, Juliet lowered the infant into her father’s embrace, and immediately the noise stopped. Carlton held the baby close, cooing softly. “It’s alright, sweetheart. I’m sorry. It’s okay now. Good girl. That’s my good girl.” Juliet could only watch, completely flabbergasted. Carlton locked eyes with her, and slowly said, “O’Hara, did you not look at the  _ back  _ of the list.

Juliet froze. “Back?” she whispered, completely stunned. She felt like she didn’t have a voice anymore. Carlton went into the kitchen, Lily still contentedly snuggling up to his chest and cooing softly. He grabbed the list and handed it back to Juliet who took it and read the back, feeling suddenly ashamed and completely humiliated. Right there, in Carlton’s handwriting, was a note. 

_ If all else fails, just call me. Don’t hesitate and don’t be ashamed. Lily has never spent time alone with anyone other than me and Marlowe, so she might get overwhelmed. If she gets too upset, we’ll come home as soon as possible.  _

_ -Carlton  _

Juliet opened and closed her mouth while Shawn and Henry looked over her shoulder, looking just as shocked as her. “Oh,” she said dumbly. “Yeah, I didn’t check the back.” 

Carlton raised an eyebrow. “Clearly.” 

“I am so sorry, Carlton. I-” 

Carlton waved away her apology. “Don’t be, O’Hara. I think most people would have called us to get the night over with, but I think you had your best intentions in mind.” 

Marlowe gave her a grateful smile. “Me and Papa Bear had a wonderful time, and it’s all because you stepped up. So, despite everything, thank you.” 

Juliet felt her face heat up. “So, I’m not banned from babysitting?” 

Carlton chuckled. “Baby steps, O’Hara. Maybe you should just swing by every now and then so she can get used to you and Spencer before we leave you alone with her again.” 

Juliet smiled gratefully. “I think we’d both love that. Thank you, Carlton.” 

They all said their goodbyes and Juliet found herself smiling on the drive home, despite feeling as though she could sleep for a week straight after the whole ordeal.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Remember, if you want something specific, I will accept prompts for this fic!


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